


Bucky Meets Mjolnir

by MusingsOnBuckyBarnes



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cameo by Clint Barton, Cameo by Tony Stark, Cameo by the Hulk, Canon Divergence - Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, M/M, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, cameo by Natasha Romanoff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-19
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2019-06-29 11:11:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15728229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MusingsOnBuckyBarnes/pseuds/MusingsOnBuckyBarnes
Summary: After the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Bucky finds himself helping the Avengers in a battle, and he's soon in need of a weapon





	Bucky Meets Mjolnir

**Author's Note:**

> Note: I wanted to set this very soon after CA:TWS, but I also wanted an Avengers ‘let’s try to lift Mjolnir!’ scene to have already happened. So, in this AU, just after the Dark World events, Thor visited the Avengers and they had the test at a welcome back party that was NOT interrupted at any stage by doombots.
> 
> Thanks very much to fayedartmouth and Lena7142 for the discussions and advice that shaped this story and gave me a lot of lines for it.

 

xXx

After the defeat of Project Insight, Bucky knew that it would be better for Steve if he stayed away from him, and let him get on with his life. Even if that felt like a kick to his recovering head.

But before deciding whether to stay out of Steve’s life or not, he wanted to make sure that Steve was okay, and that he had a good team or ‘support network’, as they called it now. It also gave him something to focus on.

So, Bucky observed and dug, and what he found didn’t make him very happy.

For a start, he looked up what had happened after his own fall from the train. A few days after that, Steve had crashed a plane into the Arctic and been frozen in some sort of suspended animation. Bucky winced, thinking of his own cryofreeze experiences.

Since being found and revived, Steve had been making up for lost time. But not in all ways…

He had also developed a habit of jumping out of planes, sans parachute. No way would he have done that on JBB’s watch.

Yeah, Bucky was NOT reassured.

In the confusion when everyone was dealing with the fall of the Helicarriers and Steve was in the hospital, Bucky had snuck back to Steve’s apartment. He’d ignored the bullet holes, disabled any bugs that were still functional, and focused on the rest of the décor. It was so bland. There were glimpses of personality: the prints of motorcycles, the books, the shined shoes near the bed. But where was Steve’s art?

Steve had always had at least one sketchbook on the go, even in wartime. Not in this place. Finally Bucky managed to find some art supplies, tucked into a closet. One sketchbook had a few attempts at drawings, including of Bucky’s face, otherwise plenty of blank pages.

_Steve, what are we going to do with you?_

_Love him,_ his heart supplied.

 _Cool it,_ his head answered.

The record player gave him some hope, and a few framed photos where he and Peggy shared top billing. And a photo of the Howlies, which gave Bucky a sharp burst of nostalgia.

He knew from his research that Steve had lived in DC for eight months, so this place should have been more settled and home-like, more Steve. Instead, it was almost like a hotel room. Steve marking time.

The more Bucky researched and observed, the more concerned he became. Steve was depressed, and had been before the Project Insight mission had kicked off.

There was also the fact that at some point, Barton and Steve had been out and about somewhere, with Barton trying to show Steve more new culture, and somehow they ended up having a conversation where Steve had admitted that he had loved Bucky, and not just in a platonic way. A member of the public had overheard, and now the whole _planet_ knew.

Well, wasn’t _that_ a hell of a way to find out? For a start, Bucky’s joy at Steve’s revelation had been shoved aside by concern about the repercussions to Steve and his reputation. Then Bucky discovered the progress of gay rights since the 1940s, slow but something, and hey, gay people could marry now… The side of himself that he had tried so hard to supress, because it could only lead to heartache and trouble, was now legal.

Steve loved him.

Talk about a lot to take in.

And in the now, Steve travelled to New York, to go over the fallout from SHIELD’s collapse, and do research, preparing to go and look for Bucky.

The guy with those amazing mechanical wings – Falcon - was helping him via phone and video calls, and was prepared to go on trips with him, which was very magnanimous, seeing as what brainwashed Bucky had done to him and to his car.

It was good that Steve had friends – but they didn’t really know Steve. And most of them were professional spies and liars.

Howard’s son had created an amazing robot suit – the apple certainly hadn’t fallen far from the tree, but at least Junior had made the robot suit fly and _remain_ airborne, which was a vast improvement on that science fair car.

Bucky was also getting all of the intel he could about the Avengers, going through all the unofficial channels he knew. Despite that, information about Thor was very thin, mainly it seemed because he had been away from Earth for a long time after the Battle of New York, not able to take part in any Avengers action, only popping up again for the recent Battle of Greenwich. Even in studying those battles it was difficult to tell what was real and what was myth. It was taking time to get to the classified files without setting off any alarms. Same with info on the Black Widow.

That weapon of Thor’s, for example. Mjolnir. Apparently, no one but Thor was traditionally able to lift it. Seriously? Was that due to strength or Asgardian law, or what? And apparently there were Asgardians who could cast spells. Or was that just some weird kind of science?

Before Bucky could do any more research, the Avengers assembled for a new battle. So, Bucky followed them, to see how well the others protected Steve. He felt proud when Steve yelled orders – he was still a leader, and the team obeyed (so they had some virtues at least). Though Bucky was tense and tempted to rush into the fray a few times to help, he didn’t, because the team had it under control. And he didn’t want to compromise Steve or himself by showing up unexpectedly.

This latest fight was in two locations in New York. Hulk and Iron Man were off dealing with one half of the threat. Steve, Hawkeye and Black Widow were at a storage area at the docks, outside a warehouse with lots of stacked crates and containers.

From what Bucky was able to pick up about the mission, a guy, Bill Lumley, had been working in an auction house and discovered a ring deep in the recesses of a storeroom. He’d put it on and it soon made him behave oddly and gave him powers to open portals into another dimension. Somehow, he was using resources from that dimension to create robots to do his bidding.

Stark said, “It seems he’s after knowledge and power. Seriously, this guy? Calls himself an academic but clearly has not read Lord of the Rings. You can’t wear the ring without being compromised, and he’s definitely not a Hobbit.”

Lumley had been using his robots during the last month to steal items that he believed would help him become more powerful or rich or knowledgeable, so Stark had organized a trap, making it seem that one of the things Lumley wanted was in storage at the dockland warehouse (secretly owned by Stark).

However, it seemed that the villain had realized what was going on, and sent some of his forces in an attempt to distract the Avengers at the docklands, while he and other robots appeared elsewhere to try to steal something else on his list.

So, Iron Man had carried Bruce Banner over to the second location, to do battle there.

There were two portals open, one in both locations, and robots were coming out of them.

Stark reported via comms that Thor had been off somewhere else on Earth and was now heading their way – he would be closest to Steve’s location so would help there first.

Bucky found a good, concealed vantage point where he could observe the overall battle that Steve was a part of. He had also hacked their comms, so he could hear what the Avengers were saying.

 _Robots._ Of course. It was the future, after all, and at least it wasn’t aliens. Which had apparently _already happened_. And Thor himself was an alien.

The robots had humanoid bodies but blank faces. They looked a bit like store mannequins come to life, and could give people an electric shock, but they had to be close enough to touch them to do so. Then more robots came out of the portal, and these had a different design and could fire energy blasts from their hands. Though it looked like they could only be accurate within a certain range.

Bucky found himself thinking: _Duck, Steve! Don’t leave your flank so vulnerable. Or is that a trick?_

Should he get involved? But if he did… At least there were no civilians in the vicinity. Everyone had been evacuated.

From the reports and comms from the other location, Hulk was smashing the robots like they were toy soldiers, even the more advanced ones. And Lumley was throwing a spectacular tantrum at things not going his way. The ring had probably made him overestimate his abilities.

Not long after, Thor announced, “Captain, I am approaching – I’ve found my communication device from last time!”

Bucky spotted Thor and gaped. _Holy cow, he really can fly!_ Well, the videos had shown that Thor could fly – using his _hammer_ , of all things, but seeing it live was something else. A real Viking God. A space Viking.

Perhaps he should have read more about Norse legends back in his childhood.

But before Thor could land or do anything, some sort of missile flew out of the portal and headed for him. It was so fast that there was no time for Bucky or Thor or the other Avengers to do anything.

Thor attempted evasive flying, but instead of trying to hit him, the missile instead exploded near him.

The blast knocked Thor one way and his crazy, huge hammer another way.

Bucky was relieved to see Thor lying there, alive, but fighting against some sort of glowing webbing that was wrapped around his torso, arms and legs, pinning his limbs. Until he could break free or be released, he was out of the fight.

The comms were full of, “Thor? Are you all right?”

“I am alive but bound! It will take me a little time to break these bonds. I cannot summon Mjolnir like this. Attend to the threat. I will be fine.” From his tone, he seemed impressed that the villain had found a way to temporarily put him out of the fight. “Their webbing is tricky, but fortunately I am mighty and will prevail.”

Then Stark spoke over the comms, “Hulk’s managed to grab the Gollum-wannabee – NO, DON’T SMASH OR SQUASH HIM, JUST **HOLD** HIM – NOT TOO TIGHT BUT NOT LOOSE ENOUGH FOR HIM TO ESCAPE – and I’m getting the ring off him now. NO, WE CAN’T REMOVE IT BY TAKING OFF HIS ARM OR HEAD. If I’m right, that should get rid of the portals.”

They could hear Lumley in the background, ranting, and Stark saying something about being Bilbo. Then with static-like noises, the portal vanished.

Steve said, “It worked! This portal’s gone!”

“Same here!” Stark reported. “The robots seem confused, but they haven’t collapsed or shut down.  I think they’ll start attacking us again.”

Steve said, “All right, let’s make the most of that confusion and having the portals out of action.”

Stark said, “I’ll keep this guy contained while Hulk deals with the remaining robots -”

“HULK SMASH!!”

“- and with SHIELD kaput, I have to wait for people I trust to take this guy into custody and also for Happy to bring over some suitable containment for this ring so it can be transported for safe study. Then I’ll talk Hulk back into his other self.”

So, Bucky thought, with the portals gone, hopefully that was the end of the webbing entrapping anyone else. Though it may have been a one-off, otherwise the robots would probably have used it earlier on the other Avengers.

Then again, the portal had been issuing evolving types of robots, so perhaps the web missile had been the next stage in the fighting. Bucky wondered if the edge of Steve’s shield would be able to cut through the webbing.

Despite the capture of their leader and the removal of his link with them, the remaining robots were still carrying on with their orders, to attack. And there were still plenty of them, a mix of versions. Lumley was not cooperative about stopping his creations, but Stark said it was unlikely that the guy did have any power he could wield over them now anyway – they were just continuing on with their programming.

Bucky wanted to join in the fight, or at least see if he could help Thor, who was still working on his bonds.

Then a stray energy blast from a robot knocked over some crates a short distance from where Steve, Romanoff, and Barton were battling the robots. Bucky could see the containers fall from his vantage point, and also that they’d knocked down a man. A woman tried to help him up.

Shit. Civilians. Bucky saw a camera on a strap around the man’s neck. They were probably journalists, who had come in too close, hoping for a scoop.

Then some of the robots spotted them.

Bucky’s instincts told him that they were innocent bystanders and not HYDRA, or a trap. The others wouldn’t be able to help them in time. He could.

Bucky didn’t want to reveal himself, not so soon, but he also couldn’t sit back and let people get hurt or die, especially not after all that he’d been forced to do.

He raced into the fray, taking out the robots nearest to the man and woman.

He heard Steve’s shocked cry of his name, but there was no time to respond.

Bucky used his metal arm and his knives and his super-serum kicks were pretty effective too. He didn’t want to risk using his guns – the bullets could ricochet and hurt the people. Fortunately, this particular batch of robots were the ‘have-to-touch-you-to-zap-you’ sort.

The woman had seen the robots coming, and she had grabbed up a length of pipe and was holding it like a baseball bat, standing between them and the man. She was nervous, but fierce and determined. Bucky felt a surge of nostalgic love for his fellow New Yorkers. Good to know that some things about them hadn’t changed.

“That’s it, ma’am! We’ll improvise,” he told her. He wondered where on Earth that had come from. It was the most Brooklyn – the most Bucky – he had sounded and felt for years. But his goal was to make sure that the robots didn’t get anywhere near those two. “Stay back and guard him. I’ll take care of these. Yell if you see any coming from behind.”

He’d have to distract the robots. Unfortunately, his hacking of the comms was receive only (as he hadn’t wanted to swear at Steve and be overheard, or blurt out anything else he shouldn’t), but that didn’t matter, as very soon after Steve had seen him, Bucky heard Steve say:

“There are people – civilians! JARVIS, get an ambulance here. I’m getting heat signatures of at least two. One of them is down.” He reeled off the location. “Bucky’s drawing the robots away from them.”

Barton blurted out: “Bucky? Your Bucky? Scratch that – what other ‘Bucky’ would there be in this day and age.”

_The original and still the best. Don’t forget it, birdman._

Stark’s comment was, “He’s shown up? For which side?”

Steve said, “Tony!”

“Just checking! Interesting cavalry.”

Romanoff gave an intrigued ‘Hmmmm’. She didn’t seem surprised.

The robots started ganging up on Bucky. His knives were not optimal against their armored bodies, but he was good at finding vulnerable spots.

He could hear Steve’s breathing over the comms, picking it out under all of the other kerfuffle, knew that Steve was running his way as fast as he could and issuing orders. Apparently, no one was helping Thor, because he’d insisted he was fine, and fortunately no robots were going after him. Bucky could hear him trying to break the bonds.

Bucky kept drawing the robots away from the man and woman, towards the Avengers. He had to throw a knife at a robot who was getting too close to the civilians, and then his other knife got stuck inside a robot. The thing managed to send him staggering with a powerful zap before he could draw more weapons. Fortunately, the zap didn’t incapacitate him the way it would have a normal person, plus he had blocked most of it with his arm before punching the robot.

An approaching automaton jerked, with an arrow imbedded in its neck join. Not an ordinary arrow. The robot spasmed and fell, and a few more robots were soon bristling in the same manner. Hawkeye was in range. Another robot tried to fire at Bucky, but as he raised his metal arm to block it, the shield flew by, blocked the shot, bounced off a metal storage container, decapitated the robot and then returned to Steve. The Avengers were doing their best to pick off the more advanced robots as well as either type that got too close.

Bucky found himself next to a pile of rubble, with ‘Mjolnir’ amongst it. That huge weapon should be able to do more damage than his spare knives…

Another surge of robots was coming at him. Bucky grabbed the hammer with his right hand and swung. The weapon slammed into the robot’s torso and caved its chest in.

_Wow. Now that’s more like it. Time for some panel-beating._

Bucky realized as soon as the weapon was in his hand, he felt a _connection_ with it. Its weight was beautifully balanced, and it seemed to hum as he swung it, like it was charged. It could do much more than this. He swung it again, and this time he felt it hum even more, almost singing, and it took out _five_ robots in the one go, slamming them into each other.

He’d seen it on video clips, but now that he was holding it… What the hell kind of Viking weapon was this?

He could hear incredulous Avengers over the comms.

Barton yelled, “He picked up Mjolnir! He’s using it!”

Thor gave a stunned, “What?”

There was a squawk from Stark that could have had a swear word in it, and a roar of surprise from the Hulk.

Barton continued, “If he’s lifting that, then he’s definitely got the Winter Soldier out of his system.”

Well, almost all of the present Avengers were incredulous. Again, Natasha Romanoff’s comment was calm. “Well, about time he finally surfaced. And in spectacular fashion.”

Some of the robots rallied and attacked Bucky at once, launching a ‘group zap’, which made him lose the hammer. _Idiot. Should have held it in my left hand…_ Though he was able to make some of them electrocute each other, which was enough to give him a bit of breathing room.

Steve was yelling and trying to battle through the robots to him. He was using his shield against the masses. More arrows found their targets. Widow stingers also hit their marks. Bucky remembered his own experience with one. The Avengers were ducking or flipping away from energy blasts and zaps.

The robots were surrounding Bucky now. He was crouched in the rubble, trying to recover from the zaps, but ready to defend and attack. He couldn’t see the hammer. He was about to surge up and use his fists, especially his metal one, when an instinct came over him. He raised his left arm out to the side, fingers open.

Crouched there, it probably looked like he was doing it for balance or in supplication. But he was waiting… summoning…

He had a sudden image in his head, from a TV that had been on in the apartment of one of his marks. Victims. A man onscreen in a similar pose, and a weapon – a ‘light sabre’ – flying into his hand. But that was science fiction.

He’d seen Thor do this. But would Mjolnir come to HIM?

The robots surged forwards.

Thor’s hammer smacked into Bucky’s waiting hand, after having bowled down some of the robots that were in the way.

And Bucky knew somehow, just _knew_ that despite not being the God of Thunder, he would be allowed to channel it. He raised the hammer and slammed it down, causing cracks and vibrations and drawing in or letting out lightning that ripped through the robots near him. But he was also controlling the lightning, directing it, sensing where to channel it, avoiding Steve, the other Avengers, and the bystanders.

The lightning was so intense that it turned the robots into puddles of slag. Yet it danced up and down his metal arm, not hurting him. Bucky stared at it and the hammer. He wanted ten of them.

But there were still other robots approaching, not far away – the more advanced ones, getting into range to fire at him. And he still had to protect the civilians. And Steve. And finish this damn battle.

Steve looked amazed but was also still fighting the robots, the same with Black Widow firing her wrist gauntlets or taking out closer ones with her electronic batons, and Hawkeye shooting them. Bucky called to Steve, “Talk in a minute; gotta sort this out. Look after those people.”

Bucky planned to run forward, wielding the hammer. Instead, two steps and he was soaring. Literally. He was either flying or taking one huge bound.

Within the next minute, the robots were destroyed.

Bucky turned to find Steve and the others staring at him. He and Steve locked eyes, then Bucky was both guilty and grateful to have a reason to look away. Oh damn, it was like all the years and crap were stripped away, and all those old feelings were as strong as ever.

“The civilians.” He pointed and hurried off in that direction, still clutching the hammer. Steve hurried after him.

Thor had been straining at his bonds, and his grunts of effort occasionally popped up over the comms. Then there was a triumphant noise as he broke through the netting.

Barton had reached the civilians quickly by running on top of the lines of crates, jumping over the gaps, and he was in the process of examining the man and giving first aid. Good, the guy was still alive. The Avengers that Bucky could see seemed to be battered, bruised and bleeding a bit, but nothing serious.

A report on the comms from JARVIS told them that an ambulance was nearly there. At least it was now safe for the paramedics.

The woman was keeping an eye on the man and helping Barton, but her eyes were wide as she took in the hammer and asked Bucky, “Are you an Avenger?”

“No.”

“Well, thank you.”

Fortunately, the medics arrived.

xXx

Bucky had looked into Steve’s eyes and known that he wouldn’t disappear on Steve again, despite his uncertainty. _Damn._

Steve asked Bucky if he needed medical attention. “You got zapped pretty hard, Buck.”

“I’m used to that,” Bucky said, then wished he could take that back. “I’m okay, really.”

“Will you come with us to Avengers Tower?”

“Yes.” As a compromise (anything to get that worry line between Steve’s eyebrows to disappear), he said, “I’ll have a medical check-up there.” With Steve beside him, he knew that he would be safe. He’d let Steve lead, as usual, and keep an eye on Steve in plain sight, instead of at a distance.  

Barton and Romanoff were standing nearby, watching him closely. Steve, Barton, and Romanoff kept staring at the hammer.

Bucky turned to see Thor approaching, free of the webbing. He seemed to be unhurt, apart from some stripy burns from the webbing that didn’t seem to be bothering him much.

“Hi, are you all right? I, um, borrowed this. Thank you; it came in very handy.”

Thor looked somewhat puzzled and surprised at Bucky holding Mjolnir, but he graciously smiled and accepted the hammer back. “I am glad that Mjolnir found such a worthy wielder while I was indisposed. You must be Steve’s brother-in-arms, Bucky.”

“And you really must be the God of Thunder. That’s not just a cool nickname!”

Thor’s smile grew wider. “I am he.” But he didn’t say it in a boastful way, just matter-of-factly. Then when he said, “A great battle; greater if I had been able to participate in it,” it was in a joking manner.

Steve was saying on the comms, “Tony, the robots on our end have been destroyed. Do you need any help over there?”

Stark said, “We can’t come back yet, but you don’t have to come over – we’ve got this under control via our sheer awesomeness. Go back to the Tower and put in the usual pizza order. Allow enough for Hulk’s appetite if he doesn’t morph back.”

“But if he does morph back?” Steve asked, probably thinking of the huge potential food waste.

“Then we’ll have plenty of cold pizza for those endless midnight snacks, especially if we have two super soldier appetites to cater to now. Wait – has tall, dark and stabby run off, or is he hanging around?”

Romanoff replied, “He’s with us.”

“He can stay for pizza. Plus, I want to scan that arm and also find out how the hell he managed to lift the unliftable. And just as well we were able to shut those portals down, though I’d like to know more about them too. Who knows what would have come through next. Giant robots to battle Hulk, probably. Webbing over everyone. All sorts of fun times.”

Just as the civilians were about to be taken off in the ambulance, the woman said, “Wait!” She hugged Bucky and kissed him on the cheek. His first of either for … well, decades, probably. “I’m Mary.”

“Bucky.”

He could practically feel the relief and pride radiating from Steve.

xXx

Thor, Romanoff, Steve, Bucky, and Barton went to the Tower. On the way, Steve made a brief, excited phone call to Sam. Steve and Bucky took a car together, to have some space. They didn’t say much to each other, as they were tired and unsure. They mostly just exchanged quick ‘Can you believe it’ looks, and Steve checked whether Bucky was okay and if he needed anything.

In the elevator on the way to the medical floor, Steve kept shooting looks at Bucky.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m just so glad you’re here! And that you’re okay! Or at least that you seem okay. I hope you are.” Steve seemed to have caught Stark’s habit of rambling. “And I want to hug you, but would that be okay? I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

Bucky reached for him. Being hugged by Steve had always been the most comfortable he’d ever felt, even when Steve had been all sharp elbows and knees. This was wonderful.

It wasn’t the most fun thing in the world to be subjected to tests again, but Bucky was used to it, and at least this doctor and nurse were nice and asked his permission, and Steve was right there.

It was odd being around people again. But these people weren’t HYDRA, and weren’t out to brainwash him.

Then he and Steve were given a private room on the medical floor. Bucky sat on the bed and Steve sat in a chair next to it.

Bucky took a deep breath and quickly said, “I, uh, heard what you said to Barton about me, about how you really felt about me, and I’m glad because I feel the same.”

There was a stunned pause, then Steve gave a beautiful, deep smile that made Bucky do the same.

Before they could discuss it further, Bucky heard voices out in the hallway. “Your coworkers – friends – are out there.”

Steve nodded. He’d picked them up too. “Wanting to check in on us but also not sure if company would be welcome at the moment.”

Bucky shrugged. “They can come in. It’s all right.” He had a feeling they wouldn’t stay long. And as much as he wanted some peace and quiet, he also wanted to ask about that hammer.

Romanoff and Barton knew what he had gone through, so when they came in they were polite but also not crowding the bed, instead giving him space. Thor had not brought Mjolnir along.

Barton asked what they were all wondering. “Where is it?”

Thor said, “In my room. I thought that was best. Especially since we should not disturb Steve and Bucky for too long – they need time to reunite properly and rest.”

Bucky wondered if Thor was secretly miffed about the hammer-holding. But he had other questions to ask about it. “What was all the reaction about when I picked the hammer up? Is it some royal weapon that only Thor is allowed to carry? Did I break some law? Or is there some spell on it that makes it only meant to be lifted by Thor? Then how could I do it?”

Thor said, “Who so ever is worthy – it looks like Mjolnir decides who is worthy to lift it. But the definition of worthy … is undefinable to us.”

“Seriously?” Bucky asked.

Steve said, “I can’t hold it, Buck. I’d just drop it if you handed it to me. Only certain people can pick it up. A very select few. And you’re one of them.” He sounded so proud.

“YOU can’t pick it up? That’s insane!”

“Well, I can _shift_ it a little.”

“Which is more than anyone else I’d seen,” Thor said.

“This is some weird sword in the stone type shit!” Bucky remarked.

“Are you referring to Excalibur? One movie featuring it referred to the Lady of the Lake as a watery tart, which I thought was uncalled for. But I digress.” Thor got back on track. “I have spoken to Stark. He is – I believe the Midgard expression is ‘salty aff’? – about the lifting of the hammer. Or at the very least he is most fascinated by it from a purely scientific mindset. He was asking if you had only raised it with your metal arm, theorizing whether it would count as it is robotic, the same as if I put Mjolnir in an elevator, and it would still go up. Then when I told him that you were ambidextrous with it, he was actually struck mute for five seconds, before resuming jabberation. He is probably still doing so.”

“This I can confirm, sir,” JARVIS announced. “In fact, Mr Lumley said that he would come along quietly if it meant he could get away from Sir in full verbal flow.”

Bucky asked, “Has Stark tried to lift it? I’m assuming he has – he wouldn’t have been able to resist.”

Barton nodded: “He tried it himself with the arm section of his own Iron Man suit, and with Rhodey’s help, and it still didn’t work.”

Thor said, “When I returned recently, my fellow Avengers gave me a ‘welcome back’ party, and during it, some of them wished to test themselves by trying to lift Mjolnir.”

Bucky asked, “How did that turn out?”

Thor showed a lot of teeth. “Highly amusing.”

“Not for those of us who nearly got a hernia out of it,” Barton countered.

Bucky frowned. “But I can’t understand how Steve wouldn’t be able to lift it.” Focusing on that was easier than trying to accept that somehow he himself had done it.

Thor remarked, “Perhaps his own feelings kept him from lifting it at that time.”

Steve blinked. “My feelings?”

Thor nodded. “Your misplaced guilt about Barnes and your lack of self-worth. When Barnes picked up Mjolnir, he was not thinking of such things. He was just considering the hammer as a way to protect people and remove a threat.”

Steve was blushing. They stared at Thor, who continued, “However, I do not believe that the worthiness is a dictation of being good or noble or anything so specific. I cannot say for sure how it does work, but I think it has to do in some way with current intent. Someone lifting it for fun – for ‘shits and giggles’, is that the term? – will not succeed. Or trying to lift it due to peer pressure.”

Romanoff gave him a penetrating, amused look. “So, you encouraged those at that party to give it a go, just for the amusement of watching them strain and nearly pop blood vessels?”

“Verily. You were wise not to.”

Bucky said to Romanoff, “You didn’t want to try lifting it?”

She looked serene. “It’s not something that I need to know about myself. But it is very interesting to know about _you_.”

He nearly laughed at the absurdity of the situation. “Worthy…?”

Before Steve could protest, Thor replied. “I was not exactly worthy of it at one point. At the time, my arrogance nearly caused a war, and my father banished me to Earth in disgrace. He put the spell on Mjolnir then. I couldn’t lift Mjolnir until I became a better person, which I did here on Earth. Before that, before the spell, I could use it. And that was not due to purity or saintliness. So, the worthy clause may be more of a condition on me retaining it and on it not being taken by the wrong party. It is hard to discern. The wisdom of the Allfather is strong – and extremely frustrating and obtuse at times. It is not a simple thing.”

Steve said proudly, “You picked it up with both hands, Buck. It didn’t matter which.”

Bucky remembered how his metal arm had looked, crackling with lightning. Beautiful for once. And how meaningful it was for that arm to still be worthy, since it had been made by HYDRA. It could be used for good.

Steve deserved to be able to lift Mjolnir. Would his own self-doubt about his worth interfere? His feelings about not having rescued Bucky?

But perhaps that wasn’t the issue.

Barton snapped his fingers. “It might be like in Harry Potter. The wand chooses the wizard.”

Romanoff said, “It seems there’s lots of wriggle room with this.”

Thor clapped his hands together decisively. “Now, friends, we must let Rogers and Barnes reacquaint themselves with each other, and for Barnes to rest. They have had a long, forced break.” He smiled at Bucky. “I look forward to knowing you better.”

Quiet time was definitely appreciated. Especially since it was just the two of them.

xXx

When Bucky was discharged from the medical floor, Steve had some clothes ready for him. Of course.

It seemed that there was going to be a LOT of interest in the lifting or Mjolnir, and Stark wanting Bucky to try again, but before anything could happen, Thor had to leave, either to visit his girlfriend Jane, or go back to Asgard – he didn’t exactly make it clear.

Both Bucky and Steve were relieved. Well, not that Thor was leaving, but that Mjolnir was. They had enough to work their way through without that pressure or puzzle.

Bucky was looking forward to training with Thor when he came back. Thor and Steve had a lot in common. Steve had been a good man who became a perfect warrior; Thor was a perfect warrior who became a good man. They were both honest and golden, but Thor had had a privilege that Steve never did. They both wrestled with the responsibilities of the leadership roles they came into.

It was tempting to ask Steve to try to lift Mjolnir again, but Bucky knew that just because he had returned to Steve’s life, that didn’t magically erase the guilt that Steve felt. That was going to take a lot of work. Just as well that Steve had always been Bucky’s major project.

Though knowing that the hammer had somehow found him worthy was a great help in his own recovery and how he viewed himself. _Don’t sweat the finer details._

xXx

Bucky and Steve would stay at the Tower for now, with trips to D.C. to see Peggy and Sam. At some stage, Bucky would join the Avengers. Fortunately, things were now quiet. He and Steve were decorating their space, making it more home-like. On a budget they never would have dreamed of having.

Stark said he wanted to throw a party to have the fun of introducing Bucky Barnes and Bruce Banner to Bridget Bardot and Brian Blessed. Then again, how Stark would find the time was the problem, as he was absorbed with studying the ring, and the portals, and their dimension, and Bucky’s arm, and how Bucky had picked up Mjolnir, and Stark’s other thousands of research projects.

It was good to make Steve’s – their – place more colorful and personal. It was great to buy as many books as Bucky wanted. And catch up on world events. And with each other and their feelings.

For the first few weeks, they slept in separate rooms, seeing how Bucky went with living with someone again, and how bad the nightmares were. But soon, inevitably, they were in the one room and one bed.

xXx

He and Steve became more settled. Both of them saw a therapist. Bucky hadn’t been sure about it at first, but it was good to talk and to explore who they were now. Having each other helped immensely. And they could explore the new century together.

Bucky realized that being able to lift Mjolnir had helped him to accept himself, all of himself, more quickly.

“Is Coney Island still there?” he asked.

Steve grinned. “Yeah, and so is the Cyclone.”

“Let’s go.”

Stark kept coming up with suggestions for things that they should try. Thor sent Bucky a pendant of Mjolnir as a gift, exquisitely made on Asgard. It was great to spend more time with Steve’s friends and for them to become his too (and they would be Bucky’s future team mates as well). And to be with people so supportive of his and Steve’s relationship.  

xXx

Steve had just returned from some shopping. Bucky looked up from his book as Steve sat next to him, bashful and holding something in a bag.

“I bought you something.”

Bucky half-expected it to be a toy version of Mjolnir. Instead, it was a soft toy pig, about the size of a standard teddy bear. A cuddly pig with a smug look on its face and a set of wings.

Little gold glittery wings on its back. Such small wings that they wouldn’t even get its porcine ass off the ground.

Bucky laughed. Then laughed some more when Steve said, “Sam told me to add these,” and put tiny goggles on the furry head.

Bucky said, “I’ll call him LOB.”

“Lob?”

“Yeah. For _Look Out Below_!”

Steve roared with laughter.

Pigs had flown, and a not-so-mystical hammer.

Then Bucky gave him a side-long look. “Let’s put a little parachute on him.”

Steve coughed. “Um, yeah. Good idea.”

“And let’s go to an art store and get you more supplies.”

“Oh.” Steve blushed. “I keep meaning to get back into art.”

“Well, your best model is back now.”

xXx

The kiss on the cheek the woman had given him was very nice. The one that Steve gave him was even nicer. Steve didn’t limit his kisses to Bucky’s cheek either.

Brothers-in-arms. Lovers-in-bed.

When they were in bed together, kissing, Steve said during a moment in-between, “When the serum worked and the pain stopped, I could finally take a proper breath. Now, with you here, it’s like I can breathe again.”

Bucky traced his fingers down Steve’s face. “But do you have any objection to your breath being taken away in certain circumstances?”

“Not at all…”

xXx

Bucky woke up to find that Steve wasn’t in his arms, which was not good. Then he heard a familiar noise and realized that Steve was sitting up against the headboard, absorbed in sketching him, which was great.

Picking up Mjolnir had allowed Bucky to see himself as worthy. Spending this new life with Steve helped him remember it every day that followed.

xXx

The End.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Author’s notes:  
> Thanks very much to Nurse Darry and Faye Dartmouth for beta reading.
> 
> And this story finally taught me how to spell Mjolnir, so yay.
> 
> Disclosure: I have tried to lift Mjolnir myself. As you can see from the following Tumblr post, I may not have succeeded but I did manage to summon the Bifrost with it, so that was close enough! (Plus the attempt may have actually inspired me to resume work on this WIP, which had been languishing in my drafts folder for ages.)  
> https://musings-on-bucky-barnes.tumblr.com/post/175623113543/ive-visited-the-avengers-station-exhibition


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